Santa Anas or Satanas?

I have lived in Yorba Linda, California for 40 years and every fall and early winter the Santa Ana winds blow. Last night and today they have been blowing exceptionally hard. This morning we discovered we lost most of our backyard fences. The "Purse Dog" is scared to go out and make her peeps and poops in the backyard. Poor little thing. Our power went out some time last night, but not for too long. Luckily we are far away from the wild fires, but some our neighbors have family members staying with them who have been evacuated from their homes. Scary. The sun at sunset was a dark, eery red color.

Everyone calls these winds the "Santa Ana" winds. My dad always insisted the winds were really called the Santanas....or 'Vientos de Satanas'...which in Spanish means Winds of Satan. He's lived in California his whole life, so I would consider him an expert on this matter. Let's see what wikipedia says: Ok, that was no help! They say it's Santa Ana or Santana. Well, I still consider my dad the expert! Just cause it's in wikipedia doesn't make it truth, right? (Image credit: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response)

Well, as I heard the wind howling all day and I prayed I would have electricity to keep my longarm machine going...I worked on this lovely springtime quilt. Such a contrast. This is definintely not springtime weather! (can you see the dragonflies I did freehand? Fun.)

****I was writing the above blog entry and what happened??? The power went out! How crazy is that? Luckily my entry was saved and I didn't have to redo it. And luckily my 17-year old son, who was home with me at the time, had his trusty cell-phone with him. We used that as a light out in the garage as we hunted for a flashlight. We got into our 72-hour kits and found some light sticks. That worked for a while. (remember I live in earthquake country...and we have learned to be prepared!)

Well no longarm quilting, no tv, no Xbox, no lights, nothing for about an hour. When his dad came home, my son and I sat in the living room around candlelight and just talked. Wow! Can you imagine? We just talked!

What a day! Today there will be more Vientos de Satanas...Santa Ana Winds!